Republicans in Key Races Turn Quiet on Tax Cuts

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So much for the Republican plan to aggressively sell the tax cuts ahead of the midterm elections.

Reuters’ David Morgan reports: “The most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the tightest congressional races in the November elections are talking less and less about the tax cuts on Twitter and Facebook, on their campaign and congressional websites and in digital ads, the vital tools of a modern election campaign, a Reuters analysis of their online utterances shows.”

Overall, the number of tax messages from Republicans in those key races has fallen by an average of 44 percent since January, and by as much as 72 percent in some cases.

The analysis comes with a few caveats, though. Reuters did not include candidates’ emails, direct mail, private conversations or stump speeches in its tally of tax mentions. And conservative groups like those backed by the Koch Brothers are still spending millions to tout the new tax law. We’ve also still got about six months to go before Election Day, so the Republican tax talk could still ramp up significantly — though some polls show voters aren’t as enthused about the tax law as Republicans might have hoped.

“Let me be very clear, our campaign moving forward will be based on lower taxes and less regulation,” Sen. Dean Heller, whose seat is considered to be the most vulnerable among GOP senators, told Reuters. “The trend you’ve seen in the first quarter of this year, I assure you, is not going to be the trend over the next six months.”

Heller has continued to promote the GOP overhaul in his online messages, but his tax-related messages have fallen by 44 percent since the end of January.

As editor in chief, Yuval Rosenberg oversees all aspects of The Fiscal Times' website and email newsletter. His writing has appeared in publications including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, Fortune, Newsweek, Money and Time.